Five frightening film festival flicks to look out for in 2018

4) Assassination Nation

Directed by Sam Levinson

Starring: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, and Bella Thorne

Release Date: Sept. 21, 2018

What happens when you take the #woke mindset and insert it into a film with a Purge atmosphere and tone? You get the marketing behind arguably the most shocking hit coming out of Sundance Film Festival: Assassination Nation. Right from its premiere at the festival, the film received a polarizing reception, with one band of critics claiming this to be a fun and wild ride with a progressive wink. Meanwhile, the other side seems to have turned on this film for getting particularly critical of various social issues, such as toxic masculinity, high school life, feminism, and more.

There’s no doubt that this film WANTS to address those issues in some way, The promotional material has repeatedly touted several “trigger warnings” before its previews, seemingly hoping for audiences to criticize it for its message, whatever it may be. It remains to be seen exactly how Assassination Nation will explore these issues, if at all, and if it does an admirable job at doing so. But the overall tone suggests that this should be an insane comedic thriller romp regardless. The trailer has gunfire, a girl being chased down the street by perverts in cars, and that only seems to be the tip of the iceberg. This film WANTS to offend, shock, and horrify. Let’s see if it actually does.